A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships came into practical usage during the early 1800s; however, there were exceptions that came before. Steamships usually use the prefix designations of "PS" for paddle steamer or "SS" for screw steamer. As paddle steamers became less common, "SS" is assumed by many to stand for "steamship". Ships powered by internal combustion engines use a prefix such as "MV" for motor vessel, so it is not correct to use "SS" for most modern vessels.
SS Nomadic is a former tender of the White Star Line, launched on 25 April 1911 in Belfast now on display in Belfast's Titanic Quarter. She was built to transfer passengers and mail to and from RMS Olympic and RMS Titanic. She is the only surviving vessel designed by Thomas Andrews who also helped design those two ocean liners, and the last White Star Line vessel in existence today.
HMY Victoria and Albert was a royal yacht of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom. The yacht was designed by the Chief Constructor of the Royal Navy Sir William White, launched in 1899 and ready for service in 1901. This was the third yacht to be named Victoria and Albert and she was fitted with steam engines fired by Belleville water-tube boilers. She served four sovereigns, and was decommissioned as royal yacht in 1939, served in the Second World War, and was broken up in 1954.
The steamship Virginia V is the last operational example of a Puget Sound Mosquito Fleet steamer. She was once part of a large fleet of small passenger and freight carrying ships that linked the islands and ports of Puget Sound in Washington state in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She is a Seattle landmark and a National Historic Landmark.
HMS Waterwitch was a British hydrographic survey vessel active in eastern Asian waters from 1894 to 1912. She was a wooden vessel, purchased from a private owner specifically for survey work. She was lost in a collision in Singapore harbour in 1912.
A steam yacht is a class of luxury or commercial yacht with primary or secondary steam propulsion in addition to the sails usually carried by yachts.
Asbury Park was a high-speed coastal steamer built in Philadelphia, and intended to transport well-to-do persons from New York to summer homes on the New Jersey shore. This vessel was sold to West Coast interests in 1918, and later converted to an automobile ferry, serving on various routes San Francisco Bay, Puget Sound and British Columbia. This vessel was known by a number of other names, including City of Sacramento, Kahloke, Langdale Queen, and Lady Grace.
The steam yacht Gondola is a rebuilt Victorian, screw-propelled, steam-powered passenger vessel on Coniston Water, England. Originally launched in 1859, she was built for the steamer service carrying passengers from the Furness Railway and from the Coniston Railway. She was in commercial service until 1936 when she was retired, being converted to a houseboat in 1946. In 1979, by now derelict, she was given a new hull, engine, boiler and most of the superstructure. She is back in service as a passenger boat, still powered by steam and now operated by the National Trust.
USS Sylph (PY-5) was a steel hulled steam yacht that served as a presidential yacht operating from the Washington Navy Yard from the late 19th century through the presidency of Woodrow Wilson. Afterwards the yacht was used by the Secretary of the Navy and Assistant Secretary of the Navy. After decommissioning and sale in 1929 the yacht was used as a party fishing boat in New York and later a ferry. Sometime around 1950 the line went out of business and the vessel was abandoned at a pier at West 37th Street, Sea Gate, Brooklyn. The pier and abandoned vessel were reduced by fire and storms to the waterline and wreckage in the sands which still may be exposed by storms.
Baltimore is a preserved steam-powered tugboat, built in 1906 by the Skinner Shipbuilding Company of Baltimore, Maryland. She is formerly the oldest operating steam tugboat in the United States, but at present does not hold an operating license issued by the US Coast Guard, so is unable to leave her dock at the Baltimore Museum of Industry on Key Highway, Baltimore. Her hull is not capable of operating on open water. Baltimore was built and operated as a harbor inspection tug, capable of acting as a municipal tugboat for city barges, as well as an official welcoming vessel and VIP launch, an auxiliary fireboat, and as a light icebreaker.
USS Druid (SP-321) was a private yacht launched 10 February 1902 as Rheclair that was built for Daniel G. Reid. Reid sold the yacht to Senator Nelson W. Aldrich who renamed the yacht Nirvana only just over a year before his death. Aldrich's estate chartered Nirvana to John Wanamaker until it was bought by his son Rodman Wanamaker who used the yacht for cruising until a fire on 14 December 1916, just before a cruise south, severely damaged the vessel. He chartered an alternate vessel for his trip south and, after full repairs, the yacht was sold to Walter W. Dwyer who gave it the name Druid with intentions to sell the yacht to the government in order to finance a shipyard venture in Pensacola, Florida.
George C. Boldt Yacht House is an historic yacht house located on the northeast shore of Wellesley Island near Alexandria Bay in Jefferson County, New York. It was commissioned by George Boldt to house the many watercraft he owned and is adjacent to Boldt Castle.
USS Kajeruna (SP-389) was a patrol vessel that served in the United States Navy from 1917 to 1919. The vessel had been built in 1902 as Hauoli for mining magnate Francis Marion "Borax" Smith but was replaced in 1903 by a second, larger vessel he named Hauoli. The first yacht was then named Seminole and for a time was returned to the builder, John N. Robins, and advertised for sale by the designer's firm. In 1911 Clinton W. Kinsella of New York purchased the yacht, apparently already renamed Kajeruna. After naval service the yacht was returned to the owner. On 31 March 1920 the ship was sold to British interests and renamed Tomas W. Beattie.
Amazon is a 102-foot (31 m) long screw schooner and former steam yacht built in 1885 at the private Arrow Yard of Tankerville Chamberlayne in Southampton.
Clara Clarita was a fast screw steamer originally built as a luxury steam yacht for New York City financier Leonard Jerome. On her trial trip, Clara Clarita's original engine proved so ineffective it was removed before the vessel entered service and replaced by machinery from a different supplier. Jerome sold the yacht after only a short time and she was converted into a towboat, becoming the fastest such vessel in New York Harbor, before being converted into a fireboat in the same locality.
The passenger steamer SS Peel Castle was operated by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company from her purchase in 1912 until she was sold for breaking in 1939.
The Steam Yacht Ena is a steam yacht that was built in 1900 for Thomas Dibbs, the commodore of the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron. It was used as his private vessel for entertaining guests on Sydney Harbour and Pittwater until the beginning of World War I. In 1917 the yacht was purchased by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and used as the auxiliary patrol vessel HMAS Sleuth in the waters around the Torres Strait and Thursday Island, before later being used as a training ship tender based in Sydney.
White Ladye was a steam yacht built in 1891 by Ramage & Ferguson of Leith from a design by W C Storey. She had 3 masts; length 204 ft; breadth 27 ft; 142 hp steam powered. She was built for Francis Edward Baring and named White Ladye.
The steamship General Frisbie was a wooden two-deck passenger ship built in 1900, named after John B. Frisbie. She was designed for use as a ferry between Vallejo and San Francisco. The steamer was successful in that role and was the fastest ship on the route when she began service. Improved roads, bridges, and automobiles reduced demand for ferry service in the Bay Area, and newer ships were optimized for transporting cars, so General Frisbie was retired in the late 1920s.
Steam Pinnace 199 is a steam pinnace of the Royal Navy, built in 1909 by J. Reid of Portsmouth. She is now owned by the National Museum of the Royal Navy, and is based at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.
United States 
